As memories of the card catalog and microfilm machine continue to dim, will the demise of other analog accoutrements be far off? With the proliferation of e-book readership by both the young and the old, libraries in the UK offering new downloading services are seeing a boom in membership.

The process is so simple, it begs imitation. Members sign on to their library homepage, fill in the appropriate ID numbers, find an e-book, and click to borrow. Appearing on their computer and transferrable to an e-reader within minutes, the download service saves the member a trip down to their local branch, where they would otherwise inevitably encounter long lines, surly check-outs, and disinterested replies of, “I’m sorry, we can’t find the book you’ve requested and have patiently waited four months to receive.”*

Libraries hoping to emulate the program’s success, however, ought to examine the finer points of the borrowing privileges unique to e-books. While the e-book on loan will delete itself after 14 days, is it possible to renew? The only trouble borrowed e-books seem to create is a serious decrease in revenue contingent upon late fees; will the libraries fine negligent returns? Other problems exist outside the realm of the library itself, and within the mind of the consumer. The current program does not work with the Kindle due to its exclusive software, and there is no sign as of yet whether it could work on B&N’s destined-to-be-popular Nook.

Questions aside, the e-book program is enormously popular, and has done nothing to dissuade the participating libraries from accumulating more of the e-reader’s bound brethren. Still skeptical, and ready to launch into an indignant argument about how the digital age will expedite the death of the book? Consider the ways other innovations have kept libraries afloat. Virtual book requests and online browsing increase borrowing and lead to a greater curiosity regarding what a library has within its catalog, and behemoths like the British Library are able to display their treasures for easy internet browsing. E-books will only continue to turn people on to reading, and that is far from a terrible thing.